Group Video Conferencing

Mac Compatible Huddle Cameras

There's a couple of key players in the videoconferencing huddle space scene. Most notable is Logitech with a diverse range of conference products. But there's also Apple friendly huddling camera peripherals available from Huddly, Aver Media, Owl Labs, HuddleCam and others. Most huddle webcams are highly compatible with MacOS, but there are instances where specific features may be limited to Windows or Android support, or have other quirks, limitations, or gotchas.

Mac Huddle Room Microphones

Most but not all huddle cams will have high quality built-in microphones. Many include two or more in a microphone array that uses DSP - Digital Signal Processing in it's hardware to pinpoint the currently active speaker and perform ambient noise reduction and echo cancellation. Depending on the size of your huddle group, support for additional table-top mics might be needed. For large Mac huddle room setups we recommend digital USB conference mics, some of which support plugging in additional analog extension mics using a 1/8" 3.5mm connector. Some huddling cameras have built-in speakers to perform full-duplex speakerphone functions.

Mac Huddle Room Monitors

Any decent huddle space will likely have a large television or computer display for multi-person conference viewing. Depending on the Macintosh desktop or MacBook laptop you're using, you may need a Thunderbolt or USB-C video adapter and long HDMI cable to drive it. For small groups, a high-end iMac or iMac Pro's display might be a workable solution - although only using a built-in iSight camera and microphone may be far from ideal.

Huddle Room Network Connectivity

Depending on your huddling environment, there can be a lot of variables in the network access your huddle space has. Hard-wired direct ethernet connections are the most optimal. Wireless can be quite workable, but available bandwidth might vary if many devices around your home office or company are competing for it.

The caliber of internet service you have matters too. For small biz or home offices you might want to opt for higher-tier bandwidth internet packages. If using wireless, you may need high-end dual-band routers to assure plenty of available bandwidth for high-definition video and voice conferences.

Huddle Space Lighting Considerations

It should be noted that ALL cameras of any sort require decent lighting. Good room lighting is critical for high frame-rates and far too many huddle and conference rooms are far from optimal. Many lack any windows or natural light. Often overhead flourescent light is often the only directional source and can result in unnatural color.

Cameras For Mac Huddle Conferences

A next-generation MacOS compatible huddle cam, the Owl is a new category of intelligent, auto switching speakerphone and conference camera with a 360 degree field of view that switches it's camera view to the actively speaking participant automatically.